From the paradise island Providencia we returned to the island of San Andres and checked in again at the hostel El Viajero. It is a really nice hostel with a very friendly staff, a nice rooftop bar,many nice spaces to sit and have a beer- and even breakfast is included!
As we were pretty hungry we followed the recommendation to go to the restaurant “LA REGATTA” to enjoy some delicious sea food again. When we came back to the hostel we were welcomed with some loud reggae music which is typical for the islands! Of course we were curious and went up to the roof top bar where they were giving some dancing lessons of the typical latin dances like reggae, bachata and salsa and we joined right away which was a lot of fun!
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The following day it was time to explore the island of San Andres. We went on a tour to the Aquarium and the Jhonny Cay Island which counts to the number one attractions here. To be honest we were quite shocked about the mass tourism in San Andres after we have spend these wonderful quite relaxing days on Providencia. Meeting point was at the Decameron hotel Aquarium and then we walked to the port with a huge crowd of people that went on many different boats! On the boat we got some instructions about the tour and timings before we arrived at the Aquarium Island which was already packed with so many people that we were wondering how many more boats would get there. Here they offered us another tour to go on a half an hour boat ride with a glass ground to discover the sea life without getting wet. As we just wanted to get off this island we took that boat ride hoping for a nice ride! It was definitely better than staying on the island and one of the boys got some sea stars, cucumbers and weird sea plants into the boat for us to touch it! So it was interesting! Back on the island we just enjoyed a delicious Coconut cocktail “Cocoloco” and were happy to finally head on to Johnny Cay Island.
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This island wasn’t as small and therefore it was not as crowded but definitely an absolutely touristy place! We took a walk around the island which was beautiful (but would have been even more beautiful with less people). Then we had some fresh fish for lunch before we headed back to San Andres! We were happy that we just booked the short excursion that already returned at 1:30pm. In the afternoon we visited some hotels before we took our flight back to Bogotá!
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My conclusion: If you are looking for a party island with many tourists and not much relaxation on your beach vacation, San Andres will be the right place for your journey! Many people from Colombia, Argentina, Chile and mainly other South American countries spend their vacation here – just as Europeans go to the Spanish Islands like Mallorca, Ibiza or the Canary Islands! If you look for a beach paradise and not touristy place, then I definitely recommend you to spend some extra money and time and head to the paradise island Providencia! Nevertheless you will find the amazing seven colors of the sea by cruising around both islands: San Andres & Providencia!
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